When wandering the alcohol aisle of a Japanese supermarket or convenience store, you will no doubt come across umeshu (Japanese plum wine). It is a fruity, sweet and slightly sour liqueur that is very popular, even among those who don’t typically drink alcohol.
From around May to June, grocery store shelves are filled with large glass containers, hefty bags of sugar and bright green, unripened plums. These are the essential ingredients for making a big batch of homemade umeshu, which many people do as a fun early-summer activity.
Some people even make their own homemade umeboshi, which are plums pickled in salt and then dried. These range in either quite salty or sweet flavor profiles, and I personally prefer the “low sodium” types that are on the sweeter side. They are popular as a filling for onigiri (rice balls) or simply eaten with a bowl of plain rice.
